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Many of us feel that God is like some mystical, distant and non-personal being. We have often wondered what we have to do to cultivate intimacy with God. We wish that the LORD would give us a 5-step list or formula to grow in intimacy with Him.

In Proverbs 2:1 – 5, the LORD has given us a “divine prescription” for deepening our relationship with Him. He gives us five conditions which we must fulfill in order to understand the fear of the LORD and to grow in our intimacy with Him.

Condition 1 – A Commitment to Obey God

“If you will receive my sayings…” (Prov. 2:1, NAS)

This verse simply means that we do not ignore nor cast away the commands of God but we must have the intention of obeying God and always setting our hearts to say “yes” to all His commands. Deliberate disobedience quenches the Holy Spirit. We know that the Spirit of God is the only One who can reveal Jesus to us (John 16:13 – 14; 1 Cor. 2:9 – 10), and if He is quenched and grieved, we will not receive the revelation of Jesus. We cannot offend the Holy Spirit yet still expect Him to reveal Jesus to our heart in a greater measure.

We can ask for the Spirit-filled revelation of God but if we are deliberately disobeying God, prayer will get us nowhere! Prayer is not a substitute for the intention to obey and if we want to know Jesus intimately, we must receive the sayings of Jesus in our heart without purposefully resisting the Holy Spirit!

Are there areas of deliberate disobedience in our life? We must consistently make a resolution to confess and resist sinful area in our lives. Furthermore, realizing that God looks at the sincerity of our motives to obey rather than at our actual attainment of spiritual maturity gives us confidence to run to Him when we sin.

Remember this: persisting in even one deliberate sin is fatal to the spiritual growth of our soul. Deliberate sin blocks spiritual progress and hinders our walk with the LORD. There is no substitute for a life of obedience!

Condition 2 – A Life of Meditation on the Word of God

“If you will…treasure my commandments within you…” (Prov. 2:1, NAS)

Notice that the Bible emphasizes the treasuring of God’s commandments and not the accumulation of knowledge. Knowledge, even Bible knowledge is not neutral. If we are not longing to please the LORD, and if we are driven by pride and our goals are simply to gain more knowledge of the Scriptures through intellectual exercises, we run the risk of ending up calloused and hardened like the Pharisees. Treasuring God’s commandments means conversing and interacting with the Person of Jesus who is the Author of those Words. We do that through meditating on the Scriptures.

It is difficult to grow in intimacy with Jesus without a commitment to regularly meditate on the Scriptures. We will not be adequately equipped to grow in the deep things of God (1 Cor. 2:9 – 10) if we do not treasure the Word of God in our hearts. The Word and the Spirit go together!

We need to see the value of meditating on the Word so that we will regularly schedule the time for it. Without this this spiritual discipline, we will never grow substantially. We must be serious in our use of time as anything else in our life. We must consider spending time with God as important and view it as a real appointment so that we will not neglect it. We must value the “appointment” with God and even consider it more important than any other appointment with people.

The Bible teaches that a lack of meditation on the Word of God eventually leads to both weak faith and weak obedience. Therefore, a life that prioritizes meditation on the Word is absolutely vital!

Condition 3 – A Teachable Spirit

“Incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding…” (Prov. 2:2, NKJV)

An inclined, attentive ear and an applied heart speak of a teachable spirit. Obedience and meditation are important if we want to experience intimacy with the LORD, but a teachable spirit is also essential!

There are many earnest people who have stubborn spirits and are not teachable before God or man. That is deadly because the absence of a teachable spirit will hinder us in our growth in the intimate knowledge of God. An unteachable, “know-it-all” spirit will quench the Holy Spirit and eventually our spirit hunger will wane and die out.

We are to be teachable and to have patient hearts of learners. Being teachable is actually a much greater challenge for many than being obedient or scheduling time to meditate. Isaiah 66:2 says this,

“…To this one will I look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My Word.” (NAS)

The LORD is looking for the heart of a learner. If we have a teachable spirit, the LORD can bring us into any truth that we are lacking.

Condition 4 – Praying for Revelation of the Knowledge of God

“Yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding…” (Prov. 2:3, NKJV)

Crying out in this way actually means praying to receive more wisdom and insight into the glory and splendor of God’s Personhood. We are exhorted many times in the Scriptures to cry out for a deeper revelation of the knowledge of God!

Apostle Paul’s first prayer in the great Ephesian Epistle was for the wisdom and revelation of the knowledge of God to fill the believers in Ephesus (Eph. 1:17). If it is something we really desire, we will not rest or stop crying out until we receive it. If you go without asking for it, you will end up living without it.

Condition 5 – An Abandoned Heart Searching for Divine Treasures

“If you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures…” (Prov. 2:4, NKJV)

What if someone guaranteed you that a million-dollar cheque is hidden somewhere inside an abandoned house and it would be all yours if you find it? You would search and not leave any board or a brick unturned until you find it, no matter how long it would take. You would re-arrange your schedule. You would reset your priorities and make all sorts of sacrifices until you find the hidden treasure.

The same principle applies in our walk with God: Whatever we can live without in God, we may often go without. Whatever truth we decide that we cannot live without, we will eventually obtain. If there is a truth in God that we absolutely refuse to live without, we will have it in due time – whether it’s within one year or twenty years.

Many people spend eight, ten years or even more, laboring for university degrees and doctorates that become their prized possessions. Their dedication and perseverance are considered normal. If an individual with that degree of determination in God ever becomes insatiably hungry for Jesus, he or she will sacrifice everything to gain deeper knowledge of this “Pearl of great price”!

It is very valid to pray for spiritual passion, for consuming zeal, for a release of insatiable hunger in our hearts, for holy thoughts and godly desires. It is valid to pray that we will see and feel what the Father sees and feels when He beholds His dear Son. It is valid to cry out for intimacy with the Person, Jesus Christ! The Apostle Paul called Jesus Christ “the wisdom for…in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (1 Cor. 1:24; Col. 2:3).

Conclusion

When we pray, do we feel as if we are trying to communicate with some non-personal influence somewhere out in space? Begin talking to a real Person seated upon a real Throne in the heavenlies. Begin spending time in His presence and cultivating an intimate relationship with Him. Jesus is what we need – not religion, not power, not a greater ministry. Our answer is Jesus – the Source of all spiritual riches!

If we really want to know Jesus intimately, there are conditions to be met, and these are laid out in Proverbs 2:1 – 5. If we are willing to meet these conditions throughout the years and make each of them a life commitment, we will discover the Treasure of all treasures – the glorious Man Jesus Christ and an ever-deepening intimacy with Him!

What is God looking for? God wants an intimate relationship and He is looking for a friend. He wants to talk and to share the secrets of His heart with us (Psalm 25:14) like a friend. Unfortunately, we often look to Him as a means to an end – One who is able to “fix things” in our life. It’s not that the LORD is against “fixing things” because He actually enjoys blessing us and serving us (Luke 12:37). But God wants more than just to bless and serve us. He wants friendship with us.

Grave mistake

One of the mistakes of the Church is the way we preach the Gospel. Often we offer Jesus to people solely on the basis that a salesman offers a product to customers. Come to Jesus and He will solve all your problems – save you from hell, fix your marriage, heal your diseases, bless you with wealth and with a good career, make you powerful, etc. Yes, Jesus certainly saves us from hell, He desires to bless us and He wants to set us free from our problems.

It is not entirely wrong to come to Jesus initially for what He can do for us. However, many never progress beyond this phase of our faith. What if Jesus doesn’t fix our marriage? What if Jesus doesn’t heal us? What if He allows us to become bankrupt? What if He allows us to go through trial and suffering? If our primary motive in coming to Jesus revolves around what He can do for us, we will be offended with Him or even leave Him when He “fails” to meet all of our “perceived” needs.

Unfortunately, many in the Body of Christ fail to get past this phase of coming to Jesus for what He can do for us. We are so fixated on what He can do for us or how He can provide for us that we fail to see the loveliness of this Person simply for who He is. Song 5:10, 16 says,

“My Beloved is dazzling and ruddy, chief among ten thousand… Yes, He is altogether lovely. This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend…” (NKJV)

Jesus is infinitely wonderful and He is infinitely lovely in Himself. He is worthy to be loved and adored even if He never does a single thing for us ever. It will be great injustice if we are to love Him any less and to offer Him any less than our all. For Jesus is simply worthy! (Rev. 5:12)

Real and true friendship

Real and true friendship can’t be forced. It must be chosen, pursued, cultivated and also purged of ulterior motives. Friends share secrets. As an understanding of each other grows, trust and appreciation of each other will also grow. When friendship deepens, we will love our friend for who they are and not for what they can do for you. In fact, real friends don’t need to do anything for each other because being with our friend is the highest joy. Yet the truth is that there is nothing we wouldn’t do for our friend and there is nothing our friend wouldn’t do for us!

Real and true friendship cannot be forced or manipulated but it has to be reciprocal. If it is being forced or manipulated, it will cease to be a friendship as the joy of friendship will eventually leave and become a burden.

Real friendship is love. And love must be given freely and it has to be reciprocal.

If we are primarily interested in a friendship for what we can get out of it or what a friend can do for us, we will never have a true and real friendship. Yes, a friendship can begin this way and then develop into true friendship but until all agendas and ulterior motives are removed, we will never have a real and true friendship. Yet it is our truest friends who will do anything and the most for us!

The paradox is that our friendship will never get to the stage of being real and true unless we are always free to reject one another. The moment we feel coerced into the relationship because of something that we need or something that our friend might do to us if we fail them, that will be the moment friendship will die.

It is the same in our friendship with God. We have to choose, pursue and cultivate our friendship with Him. It cannot be forced or manipulated but it has to be reciprocal.

Friend of God

Mary of Bethany gives us a powerful picture of the kind of friend that Jesus is looking for. Mary would rather sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to Him. She doesn’t want anything from Jesus other than being close to Him and knowing what is on His heart. Luke 10:39 says this,

“And she has a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heart His word.” (NKJV)

Many want to hear the voice of God so as to be prosperous or be famous. Many want to hear His voice in order to be anointed and successful in our ministry. Then some have a much purer motive – they want to hear the heart of God so that they can know the will of God and do it.

But Mary was beyond these motivations and she had the purest of all motivations. She had become like the lover in the Song of Songs who called to her Beloved in Song 5:8,

“If you find my Beloved, that you tell Him that I am lovesick!” (NKJV)

Mary wanted to hear the voice of Jesus simply because He was the One that she loved and Jesus was the joy of her heart. She wanted to see His face because it was the most lovely of all faces. She simply wanted Jesus and Jesus was enough for her, anything else was a “bonus”. Being with Him satisfied every one of her needs and desires. Simply put, she was His friend and He was her friend. Therefore, it was not difficult for Mary to waste it all on Jesus in Mark 13:3 – 9 because Jesus was the very one thing that she has chosen (Luke 10:42)!

John the Baptist shared the very same heartbeat as Mary. The ultimate desire of John was not being the voice of God but being the friend of Jesus. John defined himself as the friend of the Bridegroom and hearing the voice of Jesus was his greatest joy and his exceedingly great reward in life. For John said this in John 3:29,

“He who has the bride is the Bridegroom; but the friend of the Bridegroom, who stands and hears Him, rejoices greatly because of the Bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled.” (NKJV)

No wonder John was being described as great in the sight of the Lord in Luke 1:15 and Jesus called him as the greatest man ever born of women in Matthew 11:11!

Friendship with God

It is the desire of God to share the secret of His heart with His friends (Psalm 25:14; Amos 3:7). Abraham was God’s friend and he was the only man being mentioned as the friend of God three times in the Bible (2 Chronicles 20:7; Isaiah 41:8; James 2:23)! Therefore, the Lord delighted in sharing the secrets of His heart with Abraham. When God was about to destroy Sodom, He said this in Genesis 18:17,

“Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?” (NKJV)

What a profound statement! For God had to share with Abraham what He was about to do. God wasn’t asking Abraham for his permission but simply wanted to share His plan with him. Why? Because Abraham was His friend! It was the same with Moses in Exodus 33:11 because Moses was also God’s friend.

Jesus said this to His disciples in John 15:15,

“No longer do I called servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing, but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.” (NKJV)

The reward of being a friend of Jesus is to know what is in the heart of the Father and in the heart of Jesus! It is the desire and delight of God to trust us with His secrets and plans. He is looking for a friend like Abraham and Moses who were more concerned about God than what they can get out of Him. To be a friend of God, He must not be a means to an end but God has to be the end of all things. For this is what hinders our friendship with God.

Again, Jesus said this in John 14:21,

“He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” (NKJV)

What a promise to be His friend! For Jesus promises more than a truth or a revelation, He promises Himself and His nearness to us! Who wouldn’t want Jesus to be near to them?

The great mystery

There are times when God makes it easy for us to reject Him because He wants us to choose Him for Him alone. It is one of the greatest mysteries of the universe that God wants a friendship with us. He will not force Himself on us but we have to choose Him as our Friend. We are also to pursue Him all the days of our lives if we want that friendship to grow. Proverbs 25:2 says this,

“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings to search out a matter.” (NKJV)

The Lord has not hidden the mysteries of God (i.e. the secrets of His heart) FROM us but He has intentionally hidden the mysteries of God FOR us! The desire and delight of God is for us to search it out like a friend. What are You thinking, O Lord and what are You feeling? Would You allow me to know?

May we be like Apostle John (the best friend of Jesus), who leaned on the bosom of Jesus to hear His heart (John 21:20).

May we make Jeremiah 9:23 – 24 the pursuit and prayer of our life.

“Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows Me…” (NIV)

Who is John the Apostle?

John the Apostle was Jesus’ beloved and favorite among the 12 disciples. But before John became a beloved of Jesus, he went through a transformation from living in the flesh[1] to walking in the spirit. From a self-centered, prideful, angry, bitter, self-righteous person with no kingdom mentality, John became a beloved disciple after Jesus’ heart.

Knowing the before and after of John gives the rest of us hope; hope that even as we see ourselves as inadequate and sinful before God, we can still become who God made us to be – His beloved. Like how Jesus chose His 12 disciples, He chose us not based on how good we are,or on our personality, gifting or talent, but how our hearts are postured towards Him – our attitudes, mindsets or mentalities.

When John first followed Jesus when he was about 17-20 years old, Jesus gave John the name “Boanerges” which signifies “Sons of Thunder”. It is a name that could have two interpretations – one, it signified his impetuous personality or the thunder of God’s power to be displayed in John’s life.

John… to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, “Sons of Thunder”
(Mark 3:17)

As we study and imitate John’s life and devotion to Christ, we too can become Jesus’ beloved.

Gospel of John

John wrote the Gospel of John at the age of 90, near the end of his life. Hence, this Gospel gives a powerful insight into the heart of John – of his understanding of God and what matters to him in life.

In John 21:20, John summed up his identity, posture and pursuit in life. This 3-fold identity of John correlates to his relationship with Jesus – who he was in Jesus, how he came before Jesus and what he desired of Jesus. Our definition of this 3-fold identity in our lives will also determine how we live our lives and run with God.

“Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” John 21:20

• John’s Identity: “the disciple whom Jesus loved…”
• John’s Posture and Pursuit: “leaned on His breast…” (Loving Jesus)
• John’s Desire and Pursuit: “who is the one…” (Receiving God’s Secrets)

John’s Identity: “the disciple whom Jesus loved…”

John had great accomplishments[2], but he did not boast in them through his bible writings. He did not even mention his own name in the Gospel of John, but 5 times, he referred to himself with much confidence as “the disciple that Jesus loved.” (John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20). John knew who he was in Christ. His core identity was found in Jesus and not in his accomplishments, knowledge, anointing or ministry. By defining himself as the one Jesus loved, John knew deeply that Jesus loved him as the Father loved Jesus.

John 15:9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.”

John 17:23 “I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

Similarly, when our identities are rooted and grounded in God’s love, greatness and success is not so much in what we achieve, but who we become in Christ. This pits the world’s values against biblical values. If we see success as becoming the beloved of Jesus, we will seek Him first before everything else. Nothing can touch our hearts because Jesus has our hearts. Ministries and feelings come and go, but God’s love for us is forever.

As we grow to understand who we are in Christ and be a beloved of Christ, we can confidently say that “I am great and successful because I am the one whom Jesus loves.” Our understanding of our identities will determine who we become and set the course of how we live our lives.

John’s Posture and Pursuit: “leaned on His breast…” (Loving Jesus)

John leaned on Jesus to be near Him to know and feel His affections. This posture is what God is looking for, a bride coming out of the wilderness leaning upon Him (Songs 8:5a). John saw Jesus as his primary reward. To John, God’s promises, calling, favors, anointing, blessings and prosperity were merely secondary rewards.

When people do not know how to carry their hearts before God, they make these secondary rewards primary. In such cases, they get burnt out, their spirits get dulled, disillusioned and disappointed amidst difficulties, failures and opposition. However, if we see Jesus as our primary reward, we would be unmovable and unshakable regardless of the circumstances. This is because we are strongly secured in His love as we seek to be His beloved. All of us can be His beloved if we pursue to do so.

Jesus is coming back for us, not our accomplishments. When we recognize Jesus as the One who desires our intimacy more than our ministry, our relationship with Jesus then becomes our pursuit in life. We will want to be close to Jesus and His heart. As we grow more intimate with the Lord, we will have a greater revelation and assurance of His love for us. And so when our calling is not fulfilled according to our timeline, we are able to wait and let go. We know He loves us and will plan and provide accordingly. During God’s pruning process in our lives (John 15:2), nothing will move us, because we know God who loves us is in control. In times of suffering, our heart will not grow bitter. This is because we know that our loving Father wants to produce perseverance, character and hope in us (Romans 5:3-5).

God determines His anointing for us, but fresh anointing will overflow from our intimacy with God. Ultimately, our relationship with God depends on how much we desire such intimacy with Him and how much we press in to get the revelation of God’s love for us.

John’s Desire and Pursuit: “who is the one…?” (Receiving God’s Secrets)

When Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified that one of the disciples would betray Him, only John dared to ask Jesus who the traitor was, not even Peter dared to ask (John 13). John was confident that Jesus would share His secrets with him because of their intimate relationship. Not only that, John was also driven by his desire to know what is in Jesus’ heart, and in this case, to know who was causing Jesus such agony.

In our prayers, we often ask things from God rather than to hear what is on His heart. However, a friend or lover does not seek to get something from you; rather he is more concerned about what you think, what you feel, and what you do. Likewise, our desire should be to know what is in God’s heart and be there for God, and not to go before Him to see what we can get from Him. It is only from a place of intimacy that God will reveal the secrets of His heart to us.

Conclusion

John’s story can be our story. Like John, we can also be transformed to become the beloved of Jesus. John’s grasp of his utmost identity in Jesus as a beloved determined how he postured himself before Jesus. This posture enabled him to gain more revelation of Jesus’ love for him, which in turn determined his pursuit and desire in life – that is to become a beloved of God who wants to know His heart. As we experience the heart of God, nothing else matters but God and God Himself

[1]When John was younger, he was a self-centered person who wanted to be the greatest (Mark 9:33-34) and sit beside Jesus’ throne in heaven (Mark 10:32- 41). With pride as the chosen 12, he had no kingdom mentality (Luke 9:49-50), and too much anger and bitterness from being self-righteous (Luke 9:51-55).

In Luke 10:38 – 42, it is interesting to note that when Jesus was in the house of Martha and Mary, Martha was the one being corrected by Jesus even though she was working on “all the preparations that had to be made…” (Luke 10:39, NIV). On the other hand, Mary was being affirmed by Jesus for choosing the “good part” – by sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening intensely to what He said.

I believe that the Holy Spirit is emphasizing the heart of God through Mary in Luke 10:42. Jesus made four important statements in the verse:

1. One thing: Jesus told Martha that Mary did the one thing needed. In other words, Mary took seriously the call to cultivate the ability to respond to God in love with extravagant devotion. This is the one thing needed, the only non-negotiable thing. Why? Having this in place gives us the necessary discernment and resolve to sustain love and obedience in every other area of our life and ministry. As we sit at the feet of Jesus, we position ourselves to receive God’s help, which is indispensable in coping with and handling all the other aspects of our lives. If this issue is not in place, then our other decisions will be clouded.

2. The good part: Jesus declared that Mary chose the good part. Jesus settled the issue of how important this is by calling this lifestyle good. It is a godly and wise foundation for our life, for building relationships and ministering to others. Those who disagree, disagree with Jesus.

3. Choosing: Jesus declared that Mary chose this lifestyle. We must also choose it. No one can choose it for us. Cultivating a heart of extravagant devotion to Jesus takes time and effort. It is something that we must do deliberately; love does not just grow automatically.

4. Not taken away: Jesus prophesied that Mary’s heart of devotion would not be taken away from her. What does this mean? First, that grace for a lifestyle of extravagant devotion could be sustained throughout Mary’s life if she continued to choose it. Second, that at the judgment seat of Christ her life of devotion would be rewarded (1 Cor. 3:14). Mary, a young single woman, was never mentioned in the book of Acts or in church history. She was not known in the courts of man for her ministry. However, she will be known forever in the courts of heaven for her extravagant love for Jesus.

In this season, the Holy Spirit is emphasising the anointing of the Mary of Bethany. The Holy Spirit is emphasising the ability to linger long and sitting at the feet of Jesus. It is not just the power of the flesh or being more disciplined and resolute, but it is an anointing that is going to increase in the coming age.

Not the “Only Thing” and Not the “Many Thing”

When Jesus said One Thing is needed, He didn’t mean that it is the “only” thing. Jesus is not telling us to do nothing but only to sit at His feet and listen to Him.

We must realise that Jesus is also concerned about the lost and the fulfilment of the Great Commission. As a Church of Jesus Christ, we have a task to fulfil – to reach the world with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ!

What Jesus is trying to emphasise is the BIG PICTURE in our faith. What is this BIG PICTURE? In essence, Jesus is saying this:

“When a human heart is engaged with God in intimacy, the rest of the work of the Kingdom will happen more effectively and efficiently. If we don’t sit at the feet of Jesus, it’s a matter of time that we will get burnout.”

We must make the First Commandment (Matthew 22:37 – 38) to be the FIRST – that is the essence of One Thing. The Second Commandment must not be first. If we do that, ministry and church will eventually become an idol in our lives.

This does not mean that the Second Commandment or the Great Commission is unimportant. We must not forsake the Second Commandment or the Great Commission. It also must not become the Third or the Fourth Commandment. But it must remain the Second Commandment and not the first!

Choosing the ONE THING – the gazing heart and enjoying intimacy with God (Psalm 27:4) – will connect us to the great power source of God. It is the means by which the power of the Holy Spirit is being supplied continually to our heart. When we are too busy serving and not being renewed, we will eventually burnout, broken and bruised in serving God and others. One thing is needed and it will set into motion everything that is needed!

Micah 2:13: the Breaker’s Anointing

The heart and call of the Forerunner Ministry is to be the people of One Thing! It is critical for us to develop a lifestyle of One Thing so that everything will be set in place. All the powers of hell will wrestle and fight us so that we will not be a people of One Thing.

In Micah 2:13 the LORD promises that He is raising up a people of One Thing – they will BREAKOUT out in order to BREAK OPEN. We will be breaking-out of the traditional paradigm in the church. The LORD will raise up a group of people that will break lose from the “crowd” & will not be captivated and enslaved by the tradition. To be the forerunners, we must be able to breakout of the crowd and tradition.

When we breakout of the traditional boundary-line, we will break open the things in the spirit. We will open “gates and doors” in the spirit (v.13). We will bring great blessings to the ministries, churches and the Body of Christ. The goal is not to be abnormal. Don’t try to be different for the sake of being different, but only be different for the sake that you know that it is not the norm of the biblical pattern.

We are never going to break open for others unless we breakout of ourselves. We will never break open if we are the people of all things, but only if we are the people of One Thing! We will never be able to be the forerunner, the voice in the desert until we become the people of One Thing. If we are not the people of One Thing, we are only the “echo” and not the voice. Don’t be the echo but be the voice – being alive in the spirit and fiery in the spirit. If we are going to be the voice, we must be the people of One Thing!

We are living in extraordinary time & unusual hours where God is raising up an extraordinary people to do unusual act of extravagant love and devotion for Jesus!

Unusual acts of devotion come from cultivating a spirit of devotion as a lifestyle. Mary of Bethany did an unusual extravagant act of devotion on Jesus in Mark 14:3. A year earlier (in Luke 10), Jesus had commended Mary for choosing the “good part” in sitting at His feet to hear His word. Her lifestyle of choosing the “good part” by hearing the Word equipped her to do the “good work” – the unusual extravagant act of devotion (Mark 14:6).

We can never do the “Mark 14:3″ until we choose the “Luke 10:42″!

Will we choose the One Thing that is needed?

This article is written by Alice Smith

As I walked down the corridor toward the large prayer room, several women rushed past me in a panic. They had been praying with more than 50 intercessors from various denominations for pastors in the United States. Curious as to what was happening, I quickly entered the room to an unbelievable sight. Lying on the floor in the middle of the room in a fetal position was a petite woman intercessor, groaning as though she were being tortured. Crouched over her, on his hands and knees, was a male intercessor stroking her hair and speaking words of encouragement. Standing around “the entertainment” were dozens of intercessors watching. No one was praying now. Their faces revealed many emotions. Some were in shock, others didn’t know what to think, a few intercessors had left the room, and most were simply disgusted.

Asked to correct the situation, I quietly bent down, asked the man to move away, and softly whispered into the intercessor’s ear, “Please stop what you are doing. Everyone’s attention has shifted from praying for the pastors – to you. This is not the way the Holy Spirit would lead.”

Gruffly the woman turned her head toward me and growled, “This IS the Holy Spirit.” Obviously, everyone in the room suspected that if it were God, He would not have answered in such a way.

Yet these kinds of activities are becoming too common in prayer rooms across the nation. If the prayer movement does not establish Biblical boundaries and acceptable corporate conduct within the next few years, it is possible that the work of prayer could be drastically derailed.

What are some of the wacky intercessory activities with which we should be concerned?

Competition in prayer

Moses and Aaron were challenged with Korah and his band’s (see Numbers 16, NIV) argument, “You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord’s assembly? When Moses heard this, he fell on his face.”

Notice Moses’ answer to Korah and his rebellious associates.

“Now listen, you Levites! Isn’t it enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelite community and brought you near himself to do the work at the Lord’s tabernacle and to stand before the community and minister to him? He has brought you and all your fellow Levites near himself, but now you are trying to get the priesthood too. It is against the Lord that you and all your followers have banded together.”

Intercessors have a unique position. We are called to be near the throne, to hear the voice of God, and to stand on behalf of others. We, who occupy this position, should set an example of love, grace, mercy and humility. Yet, I find like Korah and his band, there is sometimes strife, jealousy and competition among intercessors. In some cases, the prayer room resembles the New York City stock market trading floor. Each participant tries to pray more frequently, prophesy longer, and shout louder than the others do. This frenzy is enough to force many intercessors to feel shut down and unnecessary. Why the spiritual tug of war?

Let there be no doubt about it, all intercession is war! But like all of life, intercession has its ebbs and flows. Our friends would wonder about Eddie and me, after four decades of marriage, if every time they saw us we were passionately kissing in public. This may be what Hollywood portrays, but meaningful and fulfilling relationships are developed in private. We don’t need to impress anyone or to prove our love to others. Any outward expression is merely an indication of an already secure and stable private relationship.

There are times, when in the heat of battle, that the corporate prayer room seems intense, loud, demanding and pushy. After all, Scripture says that the violent take the Kingdom by force (Matt. 11:12)! But constant warfare should not be the way every prayer time is handled. Effective, sincere corporate prayer should reveal all the attributes of God – His gentleness, His tender mercy, His unconditional love and His burden for the lost. There are times when the group will experience total silence before God. At other times, a deep travail for the condition of lost souls will be felt. Joy, expressions of love, and celebration should occur occasionally among the intercessors. To reduce group prayer to anything less only reveals our immaturity in the private place before God.

Emotionalism

Our emotions are part of our soul (i.e. mind, will and emotions). However, they should be brought into balance with our spiritual walk with Christ. Paul instructs us,

“Since you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts (i.e. emotions) on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. “Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.” (Col. 3:1 – 2)

Our emotions are as flexible and undependable as an elastic measuring tape. One minute we feel happy and the next minute we’re sad. We can have a wonderful intimate time in prayer with the Lord, and in five minutes be yelling at our child for spilling milk on the carpet. Obviously emotional expressions are not necessarily an indication of either the presence or lack of God’s presence. Amazingly, some corporate prayer groups base their entire prayer time on emotions.

Hebrews 11:1 – 2 tells us,

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. By it (faith) the elders received a good report.”

It is faith that moves the heart of God, not emotion. By faith the elders received a good report. Verses 35 – 39 tell us that some of these giants of the faith were tortured and refused to be released, jeered and flogged, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned, sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. Some of these mighty men and women didn’t flinch as they were mistreated, misunderstood, persecuted and destitute.

Hebrews 11: 38 – 39 says,

“The world was not worthy of them. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised.”

Their mindset was one of faith, not feelings. Now God knows I am emotional. Eddie calls me radical. In his book, Help! I’m Married to an Intercessor.

He describes me as a radical intercessor – “Alice is radical about everything! This woman would rather watch the Houston Rockets professional basketball team play than eat. She was a cheerleader in school when her father was the football coach. Alice is a Dallas Cowboys football fanatic as well. When the Cowboys game is being televised, everything at our house comes to a screeching halt. Now, I like football. I tend to watch the game casually from my recliner. I drink coffee, read the paper and talk on the phone during the game. Not her! Alice watches the game on her feet – even in our living room! Pacing, lunging, warning and encouraging the players and coaches, my radical wife is not bothered at all that they can’t hear a word she’s saying!”

Being radical is not bad as long as you are continually working to maintain balance in all areas of your life.

Inappropriate Behavior

Intercessors have a responsibility to represent the Lord both in the prayer room and outside the prayer room. We need to learn that which is Biblical is not always appropriate. Ongoing “weird” activity in the prayer setting is likely to be soulish, if not demonic. It draws attention to self and distracts from the assignment. An undisciplined mind confuses soulishness and spirituality, allowing the soul to rule over the spirit. An unruly mind has to be “renewed daily.”

The apostle Paul reminds us “be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18). To be filled with the Spirit is to exercise the qualities of the Holy Spirit.

What are they? “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” (Gal. 5:22 – 23)

The Greek word for temperance is “egkrates” which is translated “self-control.” The Holy Spirit will not control you. You must control you! There is an alarming manifestation among some intercessors that causes me concern. For lack of a better term, I will call it “ecstasy.”

This manifestation is often misdiagnosed as travail, but it is NOT genuine and godly travail! This manifestation causes glazed expression on the intercessor’s face and they voice utterances resembling expressions of sexual gratification. At times I have seen intercessors positioned in such a manner as to suggest a sexual act is happening, all the while they are groaning with an unearthly sound. Beware women!

We must ask the Lord for spiritual discernment concerning such matters. God does use physical phenomenon to depict a spiritual truth. Travail is a Biblical term better understood by the Hebrew word “yalad” (i.e. born) and “chuwl” which means to give birth. We cannot give spiritual birth to anything, only the Holy Spirit can. The bride of Christ is not the source of life, but we are carriers of the source of life. Through effective travailing prayer, we release the work of the Holy Spirit in the earth. But a proper experience of travailing prayer will not cause physical arousal.

Dutch Sheets makes an interesting point in his book, Intercessory Prayer.

“First, I believe biblical travail is an important, if not essential, part of intercession for the lost. Second, I don’t believe it is defined by groaning, wailing, weeping and hard work. Natural travail certainly is, and spiritual travail can include these things. I do not believe, however, it must include them, and I’m convinced it is not defined by them.”

Dutch goes on to give a formal definition of travailing intercession.

“A form of intercession that releases the creative power or energy of the Holy Spirit into a situation to produce, create or give birth to something.”

Not long ago, while teaching intercessors in a conference on the East Coast, I called for repentance if anyone had ever experienced this false travail. It was shocking to see so many come forward for prayer. One particular woman told me that she was a seasoned intercessor who had been praying for over 20 years. But recently she went to a renewal conference where a person laid hands on her for impartation.

It was an impartation, alright! She told me that since that incident whenever she tried to pray, she would see Jesus as her lover and experience a physical orgasm. She received deliverance from this evil spirit that had seduced her by deception. She had opened herself to a spiritual experience that she had not asked the Lord about first and it happened to be in her case, a false one!

This is no reason to be alarmed, but it is reason to be discerning. Ephesians 5:15 – 16 tells us to “see then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”

What an exciting day in which we live! Spiritual awakenings are seen throughout the earth. This is my prayer for the United States. To see this happen however, we must not be wacky women of God, but strive to maintain our credibility in the area of prayer.

Let me sum it up this way. The throne of God is the center of prayer. When He becomes our center of attention, we will lose ourselves in His presence.

Alice Smith is cofounder and executive director of the U.S. PRAYER CENTER in Houston, Texas.

She is a member of America’s National Prayer Committee, the International Reconciliation Coalition, and the International Strategic Prayer Network. Alice has earned her Doctorate of Ministry from Wagner Leadership Institute in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Alice’s first calling is to intercessory prayer and to represent a life of integrity and transparency to the body of Christ.

Alice conducts seminars, retreats and conferences, both locally and internationally, on a variety of subjects including intercessory prayer, spiritual intimacy, personal freedom, spiritual warfare, and spiritual mapping.

She is a regular contributor to Charisma, Ministries Today, Spirit-Led Woman, and Pray! magazines. Alice is a regular guest on CBN’s 700 Club, and an occasional guest on Benny Hinn’s, This is Your Day.

1. What is a Forerunner?

The day of our Lord’s return is drawing nearer and nearer with each passing day.   If we use God’s Word as a means of interpreting all that has been happening globally around us (i.e. recent political, economical, social, religious and natural upheavals) and paying close attention to key events that Jesus said will precede His second coming, e.g. the return of the Jewish people to the land in Israel (Matthew 24: 32-34), the impending preaching of the Gospel to all people groups (Matthew 24: 14) and the increasing intensity of political and religious tensions, and natural disasters (Matthew 24: 6-8), it becomes very clear that we are very likely to be living in the generation in which our Lord returns (Matthew 24:34)!  The Second Coming of Jesus then ceases to be distant concept, but a real and near approaching event that most of us will live to see, experience and most importantly, be a critical part of!

Unfortunately, most people get nervous or dismissive when the nearness of our Lord’s return is being mentioned.  This is due to a lack of a right understanding of how to respond in preparation for the second coming, and the identity of Jesus when He returns.

Just before His first coming, God raised up John the Baptist (Luke 1: 76-79) to “prepare the way of the Lord” (Isaiah 40:3).  John did this by telling the people that one “mightier than I” is coming and how they should respond (Matthew 3:1-12).  What John had done is essentially what being a Forerunner is about:  to prepare the way for the Lord by preparing people to respond rightly to Jesus in light of His Second Coming.

Forerunners are messengers who proclaim ‘now’ what the Holy Spirit is ‘soon’ to emphasise in a universal way across the nations.  They are ‘one short step’ ahead of what the Holy Spirit is about to openly release so they can prepare the people to respond rightly to Jesus by making known God’s plans, thereby enabling people to make sense of what will happen before it actually happens.  Forerunners are people whom God partners with to bring new understanding or paradigms of God and His End-Time activity and plans.  In addition, a Forerunner also needs to preach who Jesus is when He returns (i.e. as a Bridegroom, King and Judge) so that people will have the right understanding of Him at His Second Coming.

In short, Forerunners are the VOICE of God!

2. Why does God need Forerunners?

Whenever God is about to do something ‘new’ or ‘unprecedented’, he will raise a VOICE to announce, declare or make sense of it.  God Himself had told us that ‘surely He does nothing unless He reveals His secrets to His servants the prophets’ (Amos 3:7).  The Forerunner ministry is therefore a Proclamation Ministry.  God reveals His heart to the Forerunners and give them understanding and revelation (1 Chronicles 12:32; Jeremiah 3:15) so that they will proclaim His Word and Truths in order that the church and the nations will be able to make sense of what is happening around them, in light of God’s sovereign plans in these last days.  Why is this important?  The prophet Joel prophesied that the Day of the Lord (i.e. the last days) will be great AND very terrible (Joel 2:11), i.e. there are both positive AND negative dimensions.  The Day will be great and glorious for those who align themselves to God; terrible and unbearable for those who stand against God.

The Day will be great to the redeemed as they experience the greatest manifestation of the power of God ever seen in history. It will include supernatural provision, direction (Psalm 91; Jeremiah 31:9), and protection (Goshen principle of Exodus 8:22-23; 9:4, 6, 26).  The miracles seen in the book of Acts and the book of Exodus will be combined and multiplied on a global scale.  The ‘great’ aspect of that Day will include the outpouring of the Spirit with extraordinary miracles (Joel 2:28-32).

The Day will be terrible to the rebellious as it will be the most severe time of God’s judgments ever seen in history (Revelation 6-20).  The ‘terrible’ dimension of the Day of the Lord speaks of judgments against the Antichrist’s empire in the seals, trumpets, and bowls judgments (Revelation 6; 8-9; 16-19).  Many people, including those in the church, will take offense at God (Matthew 24:10), fall prey to false teachings (2 Thessalonians 2:10) and fall away from their faith (1 Timothy 4:1) if they do not understand God’s heart, what He desires to accomplish and how He is going to execute His love, grace, will and judgment before Jesus returns.  There is thus an urgent need in this hour to restore the First Commandment to first place (Matthew 22: 27-38) and draw the Church back to wholehearted love, so that the Church strengthen and not waver in its trust and confidence in God in times of great testing.

In addition, many so-called believers may not even recognize who Jesus is when He returns if they do not understand His identity (Matthew 24:23-27).  It is unfortunate that many in the Church now have a distorted and biased view of who Jesus is.  The Bible tells us that Jesus will be returning as a Passionate Bridegroom (Song of Songs), Transcendent King (Isaiah) and Righteous Judge (Revelation). God will use Forerunners to accurately preach who Jesus is when He returns so that His beloved will respond rightly to Him (Psalm 2:12).

Therefore, God is raising up the Forerunners in the spirit of Elijah (Luke 1:17) to warn, prepare and make ready His people for Jesus’ Second Coming, so that they will understand and be in agreement with what (and why) God is doing.

3. What can we do to be Forerunners?

Forerunners are the voice of God, not the echo.  It is about hearing God’s voice, knowing His heart and then communicating God’s message to His people and the nations.  There are a few things that we must seek to do constantly and intently to prepare ourselves to be Forerunners:

• Seek the Lord, Read and meditate on God’s Word (Psalm 27:4; Daniel 10:12; Revelation 1:3) – Set our hearts to know God and understand His ways, and to ask God for greater revelation of His Word so that our hearts will be fascinated (Song of Songs 1:2-4) and we will be able to discern the truth.  We must also take time to study the key messages of the last days, i.e. End Times, Intimacy, Understanding Israel, etc.
• Fast and Pray (Isaiah 58; Luke 18:1-8) – To position our hearts to receive more freely from God and press in till we see God’s promises fulfilled, e.g. grow in intimacy with Jesus, prophetic revelation of the End Times, greater understanding of the times and season we are in, experience the power of God in personal ministry, fulfillment of God’s promises to our city or nation, etc.
• Speak boldly (Jeremiah 3:15, 20:9; 23:28-29) – To propagate and declare the messages on God’s heart to the Church and non-believers.  We must do this to the best of our capacity and abilities, in every sphere of life and society.  We must be lovers of the Truth and not ashamed or afraid to preach it as it is (2 Timothy 1:8).

It is extremely important for us to understand that being a Forerunner is not an end by itself, or a ‘status’ in the ministry.  It is a continuous process of growing in a deeper partnership with the Lord and saying ‘Yes’ to being used as a vessel for Him.  It requires an intense commitment to love God, seek Him and walk in His ways.  One of the greatest rewards is that we will ‘rejoice greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice’ (John 23:9).

4. Will YOU?

We are now standing at an extremely critical juncture in the course of human and biblical history.  The clocking is ticking and Jesus will return soon.  God is now sounding the trumpet and gathering like-minded believers whom He can trust and partner with to usher in the return of His beloved Son.  ‘For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.’ (2 Chronicles 16:9).  The only question that we need to answer right now is:  Will we say ‘Yes’ to Him?  Will YOU say ‘YES’?

by Loh Kok Leong
One Thing Ministries